When the emperor himself is not in a hurry, it is the eunuchs who are driven to their wits’ end!
This old saying could not have been more apt.
Watching Ling Jingshu carry on in that same maddening, leisurely manner, Ling Jingyan itched to snatch the brush right out of her hand and complete the painting and poem herself.
Come to think of it, even though the two of them were cousins, they had never been particularly close over all these years. One had long resided in the capital, the other in Dingzhou — they had no regular contact. All Ling Jingyan knew was that Ling Jingshu was skilled at cultivating peonies; as for her level in poetry, calligraphy, and painting, she had not the faintest idea.
Seeing Ling Jingyan scratching her ears and cheeks in that fidgety, fretful state, Ling Jingshu could not help letting out a quiet, helpless laugh — and decided to stop teasing her any further. Composing herself, she lifted the brush and brought it down to the paper.
The tip of the brush descended lightly upon the soft, snow-white rice paper, leaving behind traces of ink — now deep, now faint.
Not a trace of hesitation. Not a moment of doubt.
Thoroughly prepared, she executed it in one unbroken sweep.
In the time it takes to drink a single cup of tea, the lotus painting was already finished. She then raised her brush to inscribe the poem — that too flowed out in a single, uninterrupted breath.
Ling Jingyan at her side had already been staring in stunned disbelief, her almond-shaped eyes stretched wide open, her mouth dropping open without her even realizing it. “A — A’Shu, you’ve already finished the painting?!”
Ling Jingshu smiled at Ling Jingyan. “Yan elder cousin-sister, there is not much time left. You still have quite a bit to finish!”
Jolted back to her senses by Ling Jingshu’s reminder, Ling Jingyan snapped awake at once, had no more time for words, and immediately bent her head and applied herself diligently.
Everyone present had been keeping an eye on this side of the room, and seeing that Ling Jingshu had completed both painting and poem in such an extraordinarily short span of time, all of them were filled with astonishment.
Whatever the quality of the poetry and painting might be — the sheer speed and unhurried composure alone already gave Ling Jingshu the upper hand over Commandery Princess Fumin.
Regrettably, she was seated somewhat too far away; even craning one’s neck could not bring Ling Jingshu’s painting into clear view.
With the time nearly up, most of those present had not yet finished their own works, and each was bent over her own painting and poem in concentrated effort — no one left their seat to go and have a look.
Commandery Princess Fumin, head bent over the last touches of color on her painting, had kept both ears pricked up the entire time. When she heard that Ling Jingshu had already completed both painting and poem, a jolt of surprise shot through her.
Surprised, her hand wavered — and her brush trembled involuntarily.
Blast it all!
Commandery Princess Fumin stared at that one errant smear of ink, the suppressed frustration nearly billowing right out through her nose. But fuming and fretting at this point was utterly useless — all she could do was paint another lotus leaf over it to conceal the mark.
That wasted time aside, it also slightly disrupted the original composition.
The blame lay entirely with that infuriating, wretched Ling Jingshu! She had sat completely still for ages without touching her brush — then suddenly picked it up and finished the painting even faster than she had. It had clearly been a deliberate ploy to unsettle her.
Painting and poetry above all required a calm and steady heart — only a tranquil mind produced truly fine work. Now that Commandery Princess Fumin was both furious and anxious, her grip on the brush was no longer steady either, and the quality of her strokes had grown rough and careless.
Princess Changping, seated at Commandery Princess Fumin’s side, watched with cool eyes for a moment before offering a mild word of caution: “Fumin. You are too impatient.”
Commandery Princess Fumin pressed her lips into a tight line, a flash of chagrined humiliation passing through her eyes.
Did she not know she was being too impatient? But emotions were not the sort of thing one could control simply by willing it. The harder she tried to make herself calm down, the more violently her thoughts churned.
Never mind — it was still more than enough to beat that insufferable girl!
Commandery Princess Fumin set down her brush and gave the painting a brief appraisal. Her lotus painting, even in its current state, could reasonably be called a superior work. As for Ling Jingshu — could a painting and poem dashed off in the time it takes to drink a single cup of tea really surpass hers?
Thinking along these lines, Commandery Princess Fumin’s self-confidence surged back in full force, and she raised her head with proud assurance.
As she looked up, she met Ling Jingshu’s gaze directly.
Commandery Princess Fumin tugged the corner of her mouth into a provocative smirk.
Ling Jingshu answered with a serene, tranquil smile.
That single smile, in Commandery Princess Fumin’s eyes, was nothing short of a challenge!
Commandery Princess Fumin’s temper flared up in an instant, cold laughter surging through her mind. You can still smile now — just wait until there comes a moment when you want to cry but cannot even squeeze out a single tear!
“Time is up!”
Princess Changping announced, and all the young ladies set down their brushes.
That said, today’s undivided attention was plainly fixed on Commandery Princess Fumin and Ling Jingshu. The winner was yet to be decided — and whoever won, someone was going to be jumping into the lake to retrieve a lotus.
In the end, would it be Commandery Princess Fumin or Ling Jingshu who came out on top?
If Commandery Princess Fumin won, Ling Jingshu would have nowhere to hide. But if it turned out that Ling Jingshu won — would the insufferably proud Commandery Princess Fumin truly go through with jumping into the lake?
The more one thought about it, the more one’s excitement grew — this was something to look forward to!
What had begun as a perfectly ordinary lotus-viewing banquet had, because of this unexpected interlude, suddenly become taut and thrilling.
Princess Changping was also clearly in high spirits, and smiled as she beckoned to Su Ying: “If this Princess judges alone, mistakes are easily made — and there may be suspicions of favoritism. Second Miss Su, come here and serve as judge alongside me!”
Su Ying accepted with pleasant readiness. “Since Your Highness commands it, I would not dare refuse.”
At the end of the day, Su Ying was also a girl of no more than her mid-teens, and she had no resistance to something so exciting and entertaining.
Jiang Rongyue spoke up on behalf of the assembled young ladies: “Your Highness, though we have no qualification to serve as judges, we would dearly love to view Commandery Princess Fumin’s and Ninth Miss Ling’s poetry and paintings as well!”
Everyone chimed in with enthusiastic agreement.
Princess Changping raised an eyebrow with a smile. “Very well then — since everyone is curious, let us all come together. We shall view Fumin’s painting and poem first, and then Ninth Miss Ling’s.”
Everyone quickly gathered around Princess Changping and Commandery Princess Fumin.
Among them — remarkably — was Ling Jingshu herself.
Commandery Princess Fumin shot Ling Jingshu a glance, her eyes brimming with mockery. “Does Ninth Miss Ling also wish to come and study this Commandery Princess’s poetry and painting?”
Ling Jingshu gave a slight smile. “It is rare that I have the opportunity to receive instruction from the Commandery Princess — naturally I would not wish to miss it. And should the Commandery Princess wish to view my poetry and painting later, she is most welcome.”
Commandery Princess Fumin was so thoroughly put out that she found herself with nothing to say in return.
When the crowd gathered around her painting and poem and began offering praise — one person speaking, then another — Commandery Princess Fumin’s face finally broke back into a proud smile.
Commandery Princess Fumin did, in truth, have reason to be proud.
Her lotus painting blazed with vivid, brilliant color: a full pond of lotuses, emerald-green leaves blanketing the lake’s surface, the lotus blossoms swaying with graceful, willowy elegance — the fragrance of a whole pond seemed to drift right toward the viewer.
The inscribed poem was also rather splendid:
A gentle breeze stirs purple leaves, Light dew brushes the rosy chambers. What makes the heart of the pond so green? It awaits me — to cast my red glow across the water.
To complete such a painting and poem within a mere hour was proof enough of Commandery Princess Fumin’s substantial depth of skill. She was by no means a hollow, pretentious impostor!
Princess Changping offered an even-handed assessment: “It is a superior work!”
Su Ying also smiled and said, “The Commandery Princess’s painting and poem are truly refined and skillful.” She paused, then added, “Only in this one place — there is a slight flaw.”
The spot her slender finger indicated was precisely the lotus leaf that had been added to conceal the errant ink mark. An extra lotus leaf in itself was not a grave matter, but it had subtly disrupted the otherwise perfect composition.
Commandery Princess Fumin could not help but admire Su Ying’s sharp eye. “Yes — that leaf was added to cover an ink smear.”
“A flaw does not diminish the gem,” Su Ying said with a gentle smile. “I am merely finding fault for its own sake. In this world, a truly flawless painting is exceedingly rare.”
Within her heart, Ling Jingshu quietly conceded the point. Su Ying’s eye was razor-sharp — this reputation as the capital’s foremost talented young woman was not a hollow one.
And now — it was Ling Jingshu’s turn.